This book offers an original contribution to comparative political science, democratic theory, and regional studies by combining theoretical reflection with empirical evidence from the Basque Country. Addressed to an international audience of scholars, postgraduate students, policymakers, and practitioners, it examines democratic quality, political behaviour, governance, nationalism, and democratic innovation. The Basque Country is presented as a distinctive case that, through comparative analysis, provides valuable insights into the contemporary challenges facing advanced democracies. These include institutional trust, political participation, polarisation, populism, technocracy, identity, migration, gender, welfare, and generational attitudes towards democracy. Combining rigorous empirical research with theoretical analysis, the volume is suitable for both teaching and research in political science and public policy. It offers clear, evidence-based insights into democratic legitimacy, governance, and institutional reform. Ultimately, the volume argues from multiple angles how the future of democracy depends not on abandoning the core principles of liberal democracy but on renewing and strengthening them through greater citizen participation, institutional innovation, and responsive democratic governance.

Xabier Barandiaran holds a PhD in sociology (2001) from the University of Deusto (1994), Spain. His areas of teaching include general sociology, fundamentals of political science, democracy, and collaborative governance. He is also a Basque parliamentarian.

Víctor Lapuente is a professor of political science and director of Quality of Government at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He holds a PhD in political science from the University of Oxford and his scientific work focuses on the causes and consequences of institutional quality from a comparative perspective. His most recent book is the novel Inmanencia (AdN) , a dystopia about the limits of freedom and individualism.

María Pilar Rodríguez holds a PhD from Harvard University and teaches at the University of Deusto, Spain. She has published extensively on cinema, migration, gender studies, and communication. Her last books include Affective Landscapes: Representations of Terrorism and Violence by Basque Female Authors  and T ranscultural Identity Narratives.